Happy Roman Numeral Day!
The IRS gives us our faces back, and the NFL isn't racist enough for Republicans?
Hello again,
Happy Roman Numeral Day, which you may know more popularly as Super Bowl Sunday. I’m so glad we spent all that time in childhood learning how the Romans used letters to represent numbers. It’s so useful to dust off those skills poorly once every year.
If you want to check out some programming that combines the traumas and triumphs of being a Black man in a system with rules that seem to let a chosen few make it while a great many suffer, yes you can watch the NFL or you can tune in to this four-part series I’m part of called Profiled: The Black Man. It’s produced by Tina Knowles-Lawson (yes, Beyonce’s mom), Billy Porter, and Trell Thomas, a dedicated young brother who I find really inspiring. Check it out on discovery+ for the next three Saturdays.
On the other end of the spectrum, I spent time hanging out with two very different white men: Jordan Klepper, my former Daily Show colleague and John Kasich, former governor of Ohio. Our time is filled with sick burns, good jokes, and sincere reflections on what it means to citizen. Here’s the first time a Republican governor tweeted at me. And here’s a direct link to the episode on Apple and Google Podcasts.
Now for some links…
Many Republicans think the NFL does too much for Black players and are losing interest in the league, poll shows (LA Times)
The Great Separation continues. Republicans are getting more comfortable saying the quiet part out loud. The NFL — predicated on Black men destroying their bodies, not being trusted to lead the teams they play for, and being blacklisted for peaceful protest — isn’t racist enough for the GOP. Also, did this poll have to be conducted by SurveyMonkey??
IRS will end use of facial recognition after widespread privacy concerns (The Verge)
Good news. The IRS won’t require us to upload our face to a private company in order to file taxes.
If Everything Is ‘Trauma,’ Is Anything? (NY Times)
Interesting and thought-provoking questions in this piece about the relationship between our language, culture, and social media algorithms.
One Of My Books Was Banned, But I’m Continuing To Confront Our Complex History Through Inclusive Children’s Literature (Blavity)
Key quote:
Kids of color now represent the majority of school-age children in the U.S. So the organized effort to preserve the dominance of books about straight, cisgender, middle-class white kids without disabilities should be seen for what it is: a deliberate attempt to erase and disempower everyone else.
Don’t like Joe Rogan on Spotify? Then pay more for music. (Protocol)
I’m putting together a Puck piece with various and sundry thoughts on Spotify/Rogan, and one of my main points is that we aren’t paying enough for music. Glad to see a deeper analysis of this point out there.
Lessons from New York: What makes a community turn against climate adaptation? (Grist)
People want to feel included when major plans change what they know. That’s the point. Given all the changes we need to make in light of the climate crisis this is a lesson we can’t learn enough.
And finally a video…
If Rappers Made Lofi Hip Hop Radio. This is great to listen to while getting things done.
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